10 businesses profiting off your germaphobia

Whenever something really scares Americans, someone usually finds a way to profit off that fear. Our growing germaphobia is no different.

Four in five Americans agree that people shake hands less often than they did 25 years ago, and two in five say they’ve personally hesitated to press the flesh for fear of germs. That may help explain why last year, disinfectant manufacturers raked in more than $679 million in sales, according to an IBISWorld report. “Over the past five years, growing consumer fears over the impact of pathogens, increasing health consciousness and hygiene awareness worldwide have spurred growth in demand for disinfectants,” the report found. And thanks in part to a rebounding economy, annual growth is expected to hit 3% a year through 2018, to $785.5 million.

If you slather Purell on your hands immediately after shaking someone’s hand, here are 10 other products being marketed to you:

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Half Facepiece respirator

This face mask has a complicated name and an even more elaborate design: The “3M 6000 Half Facepiece Respirator” looks a bit like RoboCop wearing a pair of pink earmuffs. The mask might make eating your meal a little challenging and cause a few second glances from passengers and cabin crew if you’re on a plane. At $14 from Amazon.com, it’s an investment for any frequent traveler who fears H1N1 Swine flu, H5N1 Avian flu, tuberculosis and other airborne bacteria. (For what it’s worth, it’s the top pick from GetPandemicReady.com, a site that advises consumers on how to stay germ-free.) One caveat: It weighs one pound and may scare fellow passengers.

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Clothes that ward off noxious gases and germs

If simply your hands in sanitizer isn’t enough to quell your germ anxiety, you can now douse your whole body in germ-repellent materials (hazmat suit not required). This dress and jacket — designed by Olivia Ong in collaboration with fiber scientists — are coated in special nanoparticles that create a protective shield to repel germs. These items aren’t mass marketed and the materials cost about $10,000 per square yard.

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Travel-size bidets

Bidet distributor Sanicare offers travel-size gadgets that allow “everyone to be fresh and clean anytime, anywhere,” according to its website. Bidets are commonplace in toilets across Europe, South America and Southeast Asia, though they have yet to become second-nature for Americans answering the call of nature. The Las Vegas-based company’s four to-go options cost $15 for a squeeze bottle with a long nozzle and $97 for a battery-powered washlet. Some devices come with travel bags and must be filled with water before use. “The only real way you can clean yourself off is with water,” says Sanicare manager Robert Nielson. “You can’t with tissue paper.

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No-touch door handle

Door handles are one of the germiest places we touch each day, according to some reports — and unfortunately for many of us, they’re unavoidable without various awkward contortions. But one company hopes that rather than having to open the handle with your sleeve or dousing your palms in hand sanitizer after contact, you’ll convince your boss to install the SanitGrasp. The $124 SanitGrasp door pull handle is designed so that people can avoid touching a handle with their fingers, and can instead use their wrist. Matt Fulkerson, a spokesman for the company, says that is was “was invented for the obvious concern over germs and cross contamination.”

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Utensils that won’t touch tables or countertops

Don’t want germs from your table or counter to get on your kitchen utensils? These products add a wedge to the handles of spoons, spatulas and other kitchen tools so everything but the handles remains raised when they’re put down. The homeware company Joseph Joseph’s line of Elevate products include knives, various types of spoons, serving tools and spatulas. Items cost $10 to $20 each and can also be purchased in colorful boxed sets.

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NiceSeats for public chairs

For frequent travelers or those who don’t like picking up germs — or, heaven forbid, bedbugs — from an airplane seat, NiceSeats provides washable covers that work on airplane, park, bus or train seats. Designed like a fitted sheet, they come in many shapes and sizes, and come in various prints like the 1960s-style “Mad Style,” “Cowboy” and “Wild Wild Roses.” Each cover comes in a travel bag and costs $34.95. They’re designed by Angela Aaron, a wardrobe stylist based in Los Angeles. “When I tried to find out how often various (public) seats were cleaned,” she writes on the site, “the answer wasn’t daily or weekly and most often not even yearly.”

If you’re the type who doesn’t like to reuse the same bath towel day after day, there’s a product just for you. The Body Dryer does exactly what it sounds like—it dries your entire body using air power. Shaped like a bathroom scale, you simply step on it and it blows cool or hot air (your choice) upward in a tornado motion to dry you off, according to background documents. It takes about 30 seconds to force the water off your body before it’s collected in the platform and the circulating air evaporates the moisture. (Just imagine it working similar to a giant Dyson Airblade dryer that you might have used in a movie theater or public restroom.) Consumers can purchase the prototype for $150 plus shipping on its Indiegogo campaign site. The dryer will ship in September 2014, and will retail for $250 to $300.

over them to effectively clean up to 99% of germs, or so the manufacturer claims. The paperless, chemical-free solution also makes this product ideal for cleaning pillows, cellphones, sinks, and even shoes. Its UV-C light also helps fight odors and allergens, like mold and dust mites. But the product may get some getting used to, as you’re supposed to float the wand two inches above a surface for 20 seconds for it to effectively clean an area.

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Sensor-controlled automatic toilet seat

Should your toilet seat be up or down? It’s a question that’s plagued couples and roommates for generations. And when the toilet seat wasn’t in your preferred “starting position,” chaos would ensue because no one wants to touch that germ-ridden bottom throne more than they have to. Thanks to this $159.99

fully automatic toilet seat, everyone in the household can stay germ-free! It can even “save your marriage overnight,” proclaims iTouchless.com. Just approach the toilet to activate the sensors. The lid cover will lift itself, and now you’re ready to do your business. Or, wave your hand a second time and the seat itself will lift. Then, step away (don’t forget to wash your hands!) and both will close automatically 30 seconds later.

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StepNPull door lever

Designed for doors without latches, “StepNPull” allows people to get in and out of a room without picking up nasty germs on the door handle. Grooves on the lip of the lever help with traction. “Hands-free is a big deal now, especially in public restrooms” says Mike Sewell, president of KRM Innovations in Springfield, Missouri, which invented the StepNPull. They’re available through Lowe’s and StepNPull.com. They have also been used in pharmaceutical environments where people want to make sure there’s no cross-contamination, he says. The StepNPull costs $29.95.

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